March 27, 2010

Democrats pick Simon as Quinn's running mate

State Democratic Party leaders today selected Sheila Simon, the daughter of the late Sen. Paul Simon, to be Gov. Pat Quinn's running mate in the general election.

State Rep. Art Turner of Chicago came in second for the nomination.

Simon won in the first round of balloting by the 38-member Democratic State Central Committee, after she and about a dozen other finalists presented their credentials.

Simon was Quinn's choice and he gave her a hug as soon as the vote was over.

"Sheila Simon is someone who I think is very special to this state," Quinn said.

Quinn also thanked Turner, who came in second in the Feb. 2 primary election and was supported by a busload of people who came down from Chicago for today's meeting.

The winner needed to get 50 percent of the weighted vote cast by the Democratic State Central Committee members based on the votes cast in each congressional district in the Feb. 2 primary—a number equaling 959,522 votes.

Raja Krishnamoorthi, who ran and lost in the Democratic primary for comptroller and then switched his sights to lieutenant governor, got 56,999 weighted votes while Dirk Enger, a DuPage County Board member, got 27,733.

Michael Madigan, the state Democratic Party chairman and powerful Illinois House speaker, did not cast the weighted votes from his 3rd Congressional District on Chicago's Southwest Side and suburbs. Madigan said he would have cast them if a second ballot was needed, but declined to say for whom he would have cast the votes.

Simon also was boosted when the weighted votes of U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush were cast for her instead of Turner.

Some African-American politicians had warned Quinn could face a backlash from black voters for not endorsing Turner.

"I want to encourage people to still keep in mind the Democratic Party and what it stands for," Turner said after the vote. "And so, what happens today should not discourage people from voting, from participating in the process."

Turner acknowledged that it hurt to lose after a long battle, which included preparations for the primary campaign, the second place loss to Scott Lee Cohen, and the new hope when Cohen dropped out over his controversial past. "It may hurt a little bit...I'm prepared for this," Turner said.

"I'm glad it's over. The committee made their selection and I will go forward."

Simon, who taught Turner’s son at Southern Illinois University, said she voted for Turner in the primary but said circumstances had changed with the lieutenant governor vacancy.

“The leaders of the party had an opportunity to select a candidate based on what we know about the rest of the ticket and what’s going on now,” Simon said.

Quinn and Simon say her downstate roots will help balance a Chicago-centric ticket for the November general election, as well as bring pro-reform credentials in the first election since the ouster of Rod Blagojevich following corruption charges.

Earlier in the day, Quinn touted the experience advantage he said the Democrats would have over Republicans in the November election.

"I think Sheila Simon has more experience in her little finger than the other candidate from the other side," Quinn said at the Capitol.

Quinn's barb was aimed at Jason Plummer, the 27-year-old GOP lieutenant governor nominee from Edwardsville. Plummer is a former Madison County Republican chairman who is an executive in his family's lumber yard chain.

Simon, 49, is a former county assistant prosecutor, former member of the Carbondale City Council and works now as a law school teacher at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She lost a bid for Carbondale mayor several years ago.

"She's a very accomplished person," Quinn said. "She's done great things in her life and made a difference in the lives of a lot of other people.

Originally posted by Rick Pearson at 10:25 a.m.

Democratic leaders are meeting in Springfield today to select a running mate for Gov. Pat Quinn and more than half a dozen finalists get to make their case before the votes are cast by the 38-member Democratic State Central Committee.

Gov. Pat Quinn announced yesterday that he wants his colleagues to pick Sheila Simon, a former Carbondale councilwoman and daughter of the late Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul Simon. But state Rep. Art Turner of Chicago is also trying to sway the committee, arguing he should get the job because he came in second in the Feb. 2 primary for the Democratic nomination.

Dozens of Turner supporters arrived in a bus at the Springfield banquet hall before the 11 a.m. start of the meeting. Turner is African-American, and black political leaders have suggested Quinn risks snubbing a key Democratic constituency with his choice of Simon.

Quinn and Simon say her downstate roots while help balance a Chicago-centric ticket for the November general election, as well as brining pro-reform credentials in the first election since the ouster of Rod Blagojevich following corruption charges.

The vote of the 38-member committee is weighted to reflect how much of the primary vote was cast in each of the state's 19 congressional districts.

So the Democrats picked the winner of a simulated election to run as a candidate over the actual winner and the man who came in second. Between the two candidates , Cohen and Truner received 46% of the actual votes, but somehow neither was good enough to be on the ballot with Quinn. What is the point of elections?

Wow! What a day for Illinois. I cannot think of a person with more integrity than Sheila Simon. Having known her for almost a decade (and witnessing her incredible contributions to the legal writing community), I am looking forward to following this story. Congratulations, Sheila!

Professor Sheila Simon will bring needed geographical balance to the ticket. As the daughter of former the late US Sen. Paul Simon and the late State Rep. Jeanne Hurley Simon, she brings a legacy of public service that Illinois desperately needs at this time. Her parents would be proud of her & I commend the State Democratic leaders for their choice.

So much for transparency in asking people to apply and getting it dozen to and then a handful. For a good comment look up Gail Collins op-ed piece in the NY Times. Good insight about IL politics.

On the plus side, she's more qualified in theory (as a pol sci teacher) than we've ever had. If she become Gov., IL Dem leaders will scream as Rep leaders did when Teddy Roosevelt became President when McKinley was killed. "Now that cowboy's President," was one such quote.

Pat Quinn showed a lot of arrogance with his "Anybody But Turner" position and Black grassroots voters do not have to follow suit and will excercise their opitions by working with Republicans and other Independent campaigns in November.

Quinn was in Springfield for the selection? I thought he, in light of Blagojevich's insistance on living in Chicago, promised he would live in Springfield, as the Illinois governor should... If this is true, why would it be noteworthy to mention that he was in Springfield? Is Quinn living and running the state from Chicago? Yet another reason to vote him out.

I think if the Democrats were to bypass Art Turner, they will have effectively ignored the same voters they will have to face at the polls. Turner was the runner up in the primary. Maybe Quinn has 6 toes on one of his feet, the one he'd prefer to put in his mouth.

This is not the year to be a Democrat, especially in Illinois. For Quinn to even have a ghost of a chance to win in November, he needs to pick Turner. That was the voter's selection with the second highest number of votes. Picking Simon is a cinch for a landslide defeat due to the Democratic process being ignored. The Democrats have made this whole thing a laughable free-for-all.

Hey, maybe it would be easier to have a vetting process up front and then, maybe, like, have an election for the entire state and let the voters decide who we'd like to represent us....Oh, wait, we did that -- It was called the "Primary". Then it was determined that the powers-that-be in the Democratic Party didn't like the outcome, so they booted the guy so that they could make their own decision, since they didn't think that they could win the election with the ticket that was actually voted upon, you know, fairly.

"Dozens of Turner supporters arrived in a bus at the Springfield banquet hall"

So much for all the hype about Amtrak, high speed rail, and how better railroads will change Illinois. The train stops right in downtown Springfield, almost across the street from the Capitol building, and yet, we are busing people there?

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

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